[Ads-l] Antedating of "Mulligan"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Dave Wilton
> The 1919 Colorado Springs citation that Peter Reitan found is a reprint of
> the 1918 Ogden article that Fred has just found.

Exactly. Peter found both citations by 2017.
Both citations point to the article titled "Why Our Baseball Is Better
Than British Cricket" by J. B. Sheridan.

"The Colorado Springs Gazette" citation is dated April 19, 1919. It is
available via GenealogyBank. Peter mentioned this citation in his
article about "mulligan".

"The Ogden Standard" citation is dated October 12, 1918. It is
available via Newspapers.com. Peter clipped it on May 3, 2017. Fred
rediscovered this citation and shared it with list members today.

The oddity is that Peter only mentioned the 1919 citation and not the
1918 citation in his "mulligan" article even though he has known about
both citations since 2017. The simplest explanation is that he has not
yet updated the "mulligan" article.

This is not a criticism of Peter or anybody else. There are multiple
Quote Investigator articles which I have not yet updated despite the
fact that I have germane information to add.

Garson



> -----Original Message-----
> From: "ADSGarson O'Toole" <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Sunday, November 26, 2023 2:06pm
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: [ADS-L] Antedating of "Mulligan"
>
>
>
> That is an intriguing citation. Back in 2017 Peter Reitan clipped that
> citation in "The Ogden Standard":
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-ogden-standard/10716202/
>
> Peter's article about "mulligan" contains a pertinent analysis which
> suggests that "this early 'mulligan' referred to taking a big swing at
> the ball":
>
> https://esnpc.blogspot.com/2017/05/hey-mulligan-man-second-shot-at-history.html
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> As early as 1919, a cricketer, using language very similar to the
> golfing sense, might "take a 'mulligan' at" the ball. In context, it
> appears that this early "mulligan" referred to taking a big swing at
> the ball – the kind of swing "Swat Mulligan" might take:
>
> If it is a bad ball, "off the wicket," he may take a "mulligan" at it
> and knock it over the fence, "out of bounds" they call it.
>
> The Colorado Springs Gazette, April 19, 1919, page 12.
>
> This is the only example of "mulligan" in this form that I or anyone
> else has found. But there are numerous references using the full
> name, "Swat Mulligan," to describe a big hitter in baseball or golf.
> [End excerpt]
>
> I am not sure why Peter refers to the year 1919. Perhaps the article
> should be updated to say 1918 based on the citation in “The Ogden
> Standard”.
>
> Garson O'Toole
>
> On Sun, Nov 26, 2023 at 1:19 PM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
> >
> > mulligan (OED, n.2, 1936)
> >
> > 1918 _Ogden_ (Utah) _Standard_ 12 Oct. 17/3 (Newspapers.com)
> >
> > If it is a bad ball, "off the wicket," he may take a "mulligan" at it and knock it over the fence, "out of bounds" they call it.
> >
> > Fred Shapiro
> >
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